Removable conveyer pan for egg opening machines



April 1946- i L. M. SIGLER ET AL 2,397,698

REMOVABLE CONVEYER PAN FOR EGG OPENING MACHINES Filed March 23, 1945wvzlv ams A T TORNEX Patented Apr. 2, 1946 REMOVABLE; CONVEYER PAN- FOREGG OPENING ES" Iiaurence; Sigler,,Washington,.D;.G1, andilamess G.Gill-,, San: Francisco, Calif assignors, ofone.-

thirdtoKathryn Gill, Indianapolis,,Ind.-

A pplibationlvlarclrfi, 1943, Serial No. 4803254 5 Glaims.

The present invention relates to conveyors of the type commonly used inegg opening machines, in which a series of removable shallow pans arecarried by a pair of endless chains:

Anexampleofsuch aneggopening machine is described in- United- StatesPatent No; 2,229,349; issued January 21 1-941 upon application ofLaurence M. Sigler, and the present invention is an improvement in' theremovableconveyerpan station to a more or less remote point and theredump them, as the: conveyer runs over its end sprockets, into one ormore receptacles. machines it-is necessary to-makethepansi'n such amanner that they canbe' quickly removed fromthe. conveyerandreplacedthereon, so that when a spoiled eggi'sr opened and itscontentsdropped into a pan, that pan can be removed from the conveyorto. prevent its spoiled contents from mingling withv and contaminating:the rest oi the egg contents inthereceiving container" A clean pan isreplaced onthe-conveyer inrorder thatthere may be no break in thecontinuity: i successive pans, and. the contaminated pan is emptied andWashed to awaitanother. replacement.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a conveyerpan which is easily and quickly removable from its carrying chains, butwhich will not fall or remove itself when inverted on the return run ofthe conveyer. Other objects and advantages will be apparent from thefollowing description, and from the accompanying drawing, in which Fig.1 is a side elevation of the pan mounted upon a cross bar of theconveyer.

Fig. 2 is a plan of one longitudinal half of the pan and a portion ofthe conveyer.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the pan as seen from the left of Fig. 2,the conveyor chains being shown in section.

In the drawing, the reference numerals 5 designate a pair of spacedparallel conveyer chains, connected together at intervals by cross Insuchon" the. return. run of the: chains.

bars; one of- Which is-shown at 6'. Each crossbar supports a removablepan I adapted to receivethe-egg contents: The pen herein illustrated isdesigned for a double-row machine, in which two eggs areopenedsimultaneouslyand theircontents dropped into the same pan, andinwhich the yolks are separated from thewhites. The

- chains operate over suitable sprockets and guidingmeans, and" have asubstantially horizontal carrying run and an inverted return run. Thesprockets and guiding means and the ret'urn run are common practice inconveyer construction, and have been omitted from the drawing for thesake of clearness.

It is well understood in the art that in machines of this type thecontents of each egg is caused to dropfi rst-into a yolk cup 8}supported on a stem- 9 rising from the bottom of' the pan I, and thatthe yolk remainsin said cup while the white flows over the edge and. f'alls into-the pan I There aretwo cupsB in the pan herein illustrated,to receive theyolks of two eggs opened simultaneously, but anypracticable number ofsuch yolk cups may be mounted in each pan,depending upon the number of eggs which the machine is designed to openat; one: time. A succession of regularlyspaced pansfI' are carrieda1ong;from right to left' in Figs. 1 and 2, by the chains 5, and areemptied. when: tilted bythe passage of the chains over theirendsprockets, not shown herein. Suitable receptacles, also; not shown,are positioned to catch: separately thev yolks as they fall from the.cups. 8" and the: whites: as they are poured out of the: pans I all. ina manner well known ini-the-art. The. empty: pans are inverted Thecrossbar 6* has two: upstanding studs Ii0 which have. notches II. onone: side, the. notches, of both studs facing toward the same side ofthe conveyer. The pan I has a flat rim l2, in which are two holes I3spaced to fit over the studs I0 and engage the notches I I, constitutinga bayonet lock type of connection. A spring I4, consisting of a lengthof wire wound around one of the studs ID, has one nd fixed to the crossbar at I5 and its other end bears against the side of the pan at I6. Thespring, therefore, presses the pan sideways in a direction to cause itsrim I2 to lock in the notches II of the studs I0. The upper ends of saidstuds are beveled as at H, to facilitate fitting the holes I3 over them,and they may have shoulders I8 below the notches upon which the rim ofthe pan rests.

The rim I2 is depressed as shown at I9 between the two studs, and itsedge is extended and curled downwardly, as at '20, forming a pouring lipto discharge the egg whites over and away from the cross bar 6 when thepan is tilted;

It will be seen that the pan 1, when in the position shown, is locked tothe cross bar 6, and

Will not drop OK when inverted. In order to remove the'pan, however, itis only necessary to shift it sideways, against the pressure of thespring I4, and lift it up. It is replaced by fitting its holes l3 overthe studs and pressing down until the notches H engage the rim. 7 Itwill also be appreciated that the chains '5 and cross bar 6 constitutethe carrying member of a conveyer, having a longitudinal advancingmovement, that the pan 1 is removably held by and locked to saidcarrying member by the 00-* operating notched studs l0 and holes 13, and

that locking and unlocking of said panis ac: complished by a shiftingmovement transverse to the advancing movement of the carrying member. 7

The particular advantage in our present pan is that it is removable onlyby a shifting movement sideways, i. e. transverse to the direction oftravel of the conveyer. In other types of pan, such as that disclosed-inPatent No. 2,229,349

hereinbefore referred to, the shifting movement 1 necessary to unlockand'remove the pan is par allel to the movement of the conveyer, andsometimes such shifting will occur unexpectedly and the pan will dropoiT when it tilts over the end sprockets, or when the movement of thecon veyer is irregular or jumpy on account of slack in'the chains ordrive mechanism. In the present construction, the movement of theconveyer:

has no efiect on the lockingof the pans.

A further advantage in the present transverse unlocking movement-is thatit is more convenient for the operator, who stands beside the conveyer.It is easier andquicker for him to push the pan away from him or pull ittoward'him than to shift it longitudinally of the moving con-f veyer. a

We claim: .1. Ina conveyer, a .pair of .spaced chains, a

"cross bar carried thereby, a removable pan supported by said cross bar,a flange on said pan positioned above said cross bar, locking means onsaid cross bar and said flange cooperating to secure said pan to saidcross bar, said flange having 'a depressed portion, and a pouring lipextending from the edge of said depressed flange portion over the edgeof said cross bar.

2. In a conveyer, a pair of spaced chains, a cross bar carried thereby,a removable pan supported by said cross bar, a pair of notched studsrising from said cross bar, a flange onsaid pan overlying said crossbar, said flange having a pair of apertures positioned to fit over saidstuds and engage said notches to lock said pan to said cross bar, saidflange having a depressed portion between said apertures, and a pouringlip extending from the edge of' said depressed flange portion over theedge of said cross bar.

3. In a conveyer, a pair of spaced chains'have I ing a substantiallyhorizontal carrying run and aninverted return run, a cross bar carriedthereby, a stud rising from said cross bar substantially at right anglesthereto, said stud having a notch in its side facing one of said chains,a removable and transversely shiftable pan having a flange resting uponand supported by said cross bar during the carrying run, said flangehaving an ap erture through which said stud extends, the edge of saidaperture entering and engaging the notch of said stud, whereby the panis looked upon the conveyer to prevent separation during the invertedreturn run. a

4. a conveyer'having a carrying run and an inverted return run, amovable carrying member positioned substantially horizontally duringsaid carrying run, a removable and transversely shiftable pan membersupported and advanced by said carrying member and having a portionresting thereon, a stud projecting substantially vertically from one ofsaid members, the other and having a portion resting thereon, a studprojecting substantially vertically from one of said members, the otherof said members having 7 an aperture throughwhich said stud extends,said stud having a notch in its side facing one side of the conveyer,and a spring acting between said members to shift the pan membertransversely of the conveyer to cause the edge of said aperture toengage said notch, whereby the pan member is looked upon the carryingmember to prevent separation of said'members during'their invertedreturn run. 7 r

LAURENCE M. SIGLER.

.JAMES C. GILL. r

